Your Finance and Age Factor

If you are starting out on a career and suddenly have financial independence you need to get organised. The sooner you are comfortable with handling your money and understand the importance of meeting your regular bills while planning for the future, the more likely your chances of a good future. There are some basic steps you need to take and ideas you need to consider.

You need to make some decisions about yourself, where you are and where you want to be in the future. That can form the basis of your plans and will affect many of the decisions you will have to make. Whatever your age you need to get organised and understand the importance of knowing where your money goes. That includes day to day spending as well as any larger long term plans you may have. Those plans inevitably vary with your age and the urgency of different priorities.

A good example in retirement planning. Compound interest is a great ally for you in your 20s; it has not got enough time to work for you 20 years later unless you invest a significantly greater amount on a monthly basis than you did when you were younger. It can hardly help at all if you are within a few years of retirement.

Applicable to All

Some general principles of financial management apply to all ages:

Ensure you are organised so that you understand where your money is going.

Analyse your financial commitments and investigate whether there is any waste that can be eliminated such as high interest on credit cards or uncompetitive utility, insurance or telephone network supply.

Look at your credit report and take any steps that might improve it, including querying any incorrect entries.

Starting Out

If you in the early stages of your career you will suddenly have a level of financial independence. Perhaps you are carrying a student loan that you need to repay? The terms and costs of such Visit Realistic Loans are not particularly onerous so you can think about finance in a broader sense at a time you may have other conflicting demands:

The costs of finding somewhere to live if you have moved to a new city after graduation to start work.

Perhaps credit card debt after you have helped your student days by supporting yourself with a piece of plastic? If that is the case you would do well to consider taking out a personal loan at a much cheaper rate of interest to settle the balance in full.

If you begin to save just a small amount each month then compound interest can help you grow your assets with a view to the future and ultimately your retirement.

Midlife Crisis?

It is easier in your 20s than in later life when you may have already developed some bad habits. In mid-life those general principles still apply but some aspects become even more urgent.

The future does not simply mean retirement. There are other family related financial issues you may face:

The children's education and deciding the extent to which you can reasonably help without damaging your own future prospects.

Care for elderly parents which can involve time and money.

An emergency fund for use if something unexpected comes along, everything from medical bills to household or car repair. It is very dangerous to have to revert back to that piece of plastic.

It is not easy to cater for all these things and it is virtually impossible without a target, goals that are defined and quantified.

Retirement Is Close

People who are close to retirement have limited options if they have planned little throughout their lives and have yet to create any significant savings. There is still time for a few goals; some out of sheer necessity:

Paying off debts while they are still in regular employment. Certainly unless you have a significant retirement fund you should not want any more mortgage payments to make and realistically you may be at the point of deciding whether you can downsize and use your equity to fund your coming years.

Reducing regular expenditure in order to be able to save more. You may need to contemplate lifestyle changes at the same time.

Thinking about ways of increasing income to boost potential savings and consider whether you will need to continue to work, at least part time after you pass normal retirement age.

Reflecting on the coming years and whether there are any investments, especially property, that can boost the money they will have to fund their retirement years

Everyone faces financial challenges during their lives. They are best addressed by being organised in the first place. It is never too late to get organised but it a greater challenge the older the person. It is essential that whatever age you are you do not put things off. If you have financial problems they will not disappear by magic. Act today to get your affairs in order; you will never regret that you did.